Stage set for fight night in Vegas

By Kieran Daly

It’s the fight that so many have been waiting for, and tomorrow it finally happens.

With an expected walk-in time of 8pm Pacific Time on August 26 (that’s 5am here in the UK), the undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather will touch gloves in the boxing ring for twelve rounds with two-weight UFC world champion Conor McGregor.

The 40-year-old Mayweather is the favourite to win the fight, coming out of retirement with an outstanding 49-0 win record, 26 of which were knockouts.

Standing at 5ft 8in with an estimated reach of 72in. Mayweather also has 43% connect percentage – the best among active fighters -, while his opponents sits at a mere 19%.

The “Notorious” Conor McGregor stands at 5ft 9in, with a reach of 74in and a UFC background of 21-3 wins, with 18 knockouts. This fight marks McGregor’s first professional boxing match, which for a lot of people would be cause for concern.

Despite that, McGregor has stuck to his usual antics of wearing down his opponent with trash talk and banter, with many of McGregor’s fans joining in and one even writing a song which has became a viral hit.

In 10 UFC fights, McGregor has landed 36% of his boxing punches.

Both fighters will use 8-ounce gloves, after originally being supposed to fight with 10 ounce gloves in accordance with the rules of the Nevada State Athletic Commission for a 154lb weigh in.

However, McGregor insisted on wearing smaller gloves and Mayweather agreed, with both fighters submitting formal requests to the commission asking for it to issue a waiver for their fight.

The commissioners agreed unanimously to give the waiver, at the same time appointing Robert Byrd as the referee and Burt Clements, Dave Moretti and Guido Cavalleri as judges.

8-ounce gloves put McGregor closer to his usual 4-ounce gloves that are fought with in the UFC.

The lead up to the fight has been intense, with each press stop getting hotter and hotter; some may say that the press tour may be more exciting than the actual fight.

Both fighters are expected to weigh in at around 154lbs (light middleweight) at 3pm (11pm UK time) and the fight will be broadcasted from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is expected to be the highest grossing event in either sports history.